This invention relates in general to the field of wheeled litters and lifts for transporting and lifting immobile large animals for treatment, and more particularly to a litter which facilitates placing an animal thereupon and transporting the animal to a lift, and is constructed to be subsequently used in conjunction with the lift for raising the large animal under power for treatment.
Lifting and transporting an immobile, injured or sick large animal without causing the animal discomfort or aggravating an injury is difficult. So an apparatus for lifting and transporting large animals in comfort is needed. (As used in this document, the word xe2x80x9clargexe2x80x9d includes animals which, if sick or injured or disabled due to age or some other reason, are large enough to present lifting and transportation difficulties to a handler.) Particularly for veterinarians, animal clinics, animal hospitals, humane societies, canine units and zoos, there is an urgent need for such an apparatus.
With the present invention, large immobile animals can be lifted and transported with relative ease and without causing further injury or unnecessary discomfort to the animal. It provides a way for a single person of ordinary strength to lift a very large, prone animal from the ground or floor and transport it. A significant advantage is that this invention has two components, a wheeled cart and a wheeled lift. The cart is light-weight and collapsible so it can easily be carried and stored by the user. The cart includes a sling, such as a durable medical canvas, that can be removed from the lift and placed under the animal. Once under the animal, the sling can be reattached to the cart and the animal can be carted to the lift. The sling can be detached from the cart and the animal can be carried by the sling to the lift by lifting at a pair of opposite handles on the sling and carrying the sling and animal to the lift. In one embodiment, the lift is designed to elevate an animal weighing up to 300 pounds to a level approximately the height of an average treatment table, such as approximately 40 inches. This is sufficient to allow treatment to be conducted on a large animal while it remains on the lift, or the animal can be easily transferred therefrom to a treatment table. In its lowered or collapsed position the lift is relatively compact for storage in a vehicle or other storage space.
Other advantages and attributes of this invention will be readily discernable upon a reading of the text hereinafter.
An aspect of present invention involves a method of transporting and lifting a large immobile animal for treatment. The method includes transporting the animal with a transport cart and lifting the animal with a lift. The transport cart includes a generally rectangular collapsible frame having a front frame member pivotally attached to a rear frame member. A set of wheels are attached to the rear frame member for rolling movement of the cart. A handle is pivotally attached to the front frame member. A removable flexible support sheet is carried by the frame. The lift includes a base supported by wheels for rolling movement of the lift, a lowered generally rectangular support frame, a generally rectangular support sheet carried by the generally rectangular support frame, a frame lifting mechanism disposed between the base and the frame, and a driving mechanism coupled to the lifting mechanism.
To transport the large immobile animal, the flexible support sheet can be disconnected from the cart frame and pulled underneath the animal. The frame of the cart can then be placed over the animal and the sheet can be reconnected. Once the sheet is reconnected to the frame, straps attached to the sheet can be connected around the animal to hold it in place. Once the animal is secured on the sheet by the straps, the cart can then be raised onto its wheels and wheeled to the lift. Alternatively, the cart, with the large animal, can be carried to the lift, or, the flexible support sheet can be used alone to transfer the large animal to the lift. The support sheet with the animal is detached from the cart frame and then placed on the lift frame of the lift. The lift frame can then be raised, with the flexible sheet and animal on top, without having to separately pick up the animal and move it from the cart to the lift. The lift can then be wheeled to a desired location. Treatment can be given to the animal while on the lift. Alternatively, the flexible support sheet, since it is separate from the lift, can again be used to transport the animal from the lift to an operating table. This avoids the necessity of having to lift just the animal and the possible additional injury and discomfort it could cause.